Factors Influencing Result of Surgical Treatment of Metastatic Cervical Tumor

• Published in: Japanese Journal of National Medical Services Vol. 39; no. 8; pp. 707 - 711
• Main Authors: TAKEMATSU, Hiroshi, SEKI, Hiroyuki, IIJIMA, Takuo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Society of National Medical Services 1985
• ISSN: 0021-1699; 1884-8729
• DOI: 10.11261/iryo1946.39.707

Surgical treatment was performed in 13 cases out of 27 cases of spinal metastatic tumor in the past 6 years. Eight cases had paraplegia and were not ambulatory before surgery. Location of the tumor was the cervical spine in three cases and the thoracic spine in five. Four out of eight cases became ambulatory after surgery and three cases of four ambulatory ones had cervical tumors. These cases are 68 y.o. female with carcinoma of the thyroid at C2, 48 y.o. female with carcinoma of the breast at Cs, 7, Th1 and 46 y, o. female with carcinoma of the breast at C7, Th1. All three cases had fracture-dislocation of the cervical spine, which were successfully treated by surgical decompression and internal fixation. This type of lesion was more common in cervical metastatic tumor, whereas epidural me-tastasis was more common in thoracic tumor. We speculate that this is the striking difference between the two tumors determining neurological prognosis. Furthermore, accessibility to the cervical spine, physiological lordosis and clinically low-grade malignancy of original tumor are factors bringing better neurological recovery in surgical treatment of metastatic cervical tumor.